Can you explain what the Bible teaches happened when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden? My Muslim friend says that he was taught that Adam forgot God?s command when he was tempted by Satan, and God forgave him when he repented?

Would you please also direct me as to how I can explain this to my friend.

Sincerely,
Abraham.

Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:20 am

omarSite Admin

Joined: 30 Jul 2006Posts: 15

Post subject: Did Adam forget or disobey God's command?

Thank you Abraham for asking your question.

We do appreciate your questions and our aim is to answer it by quoting from the God?s Word. We begin first to see the context of what was the situation before the first or original sin was committed. We read that Adam was in the Garden of Eden, and in this garden which was on earth, God made all kinds of trees.

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground?trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Taurat, Genesis 2:8-9

After God had created the heavens and the earth, but before he created Eve, God gave one single command to Adam about what not to do.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Taurat, Genesis 2:16-17

We see that God had given Adam a simple command. God also made clear that in the above scripture that ?when you eat of it you will surely die?. However, we see that after Eve was created, Satan came to tempt Adam and Eve in the form of a serpent. Here is a description of their encounter:

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." ? When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Taurat, Genesis 3:4,6

Notice how Satan deceived Eve by lying to her and telling her ?You will not surely die". This happened in the presence of Adam. As a result, both Eve and Adam sinned by disobeying the clear command of God. Since God had made everything good including Adam and Eve, was there a possibility that he could have forgotten this one command when he ate the fruit? So we see from scripture that Adam did not forget the command of God, but rather made a choice to disobey it. Satan in the form of a serpent repeated God?s command, and states what God said, but lies that God was hiding something important from them. Let us read what happens next:

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" The man said, "The woman you put here with me?she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Taurat, Genesis 3: 7-12

?.To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' Cursed is the ground because of you: through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. ? The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them? So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. Taurat, Genesis 3:17-18, 23

Did Adam ?die? as God?s command said he would? In Hebrew the word for death is separation, it does not mean to cease to exist. We read that he was separated from God by being banished from God?s presence. In addition, there was also a relational separation. God who is holy cannot be in the presence of sin and so there was a separation of God?s spirit and Adam?s sprit ? this is seen as before God was having fellowship with Adam in the Garden, but now there a break in fellowship. As a result of Adam?s sin, not only was he affected and banished from God?s presence, but all of his descendants are also banished from God?s presence.

In addition, the result of Adam?s sin, the earth (ground) had a resultant consequence, since Adam was given authority over it and it too is bearing the affect of wearing out and requiring painful work to eat of it as scripture teaches and we experience. For example, does not the ground easily produce weeds, etc and we have to work it constantly to keep them away. Everything in the world is wearing out. God had make everything ?good?, but as a result of Adam?s sin, the consequence of his original or first sin is being felt throughout humankind and the earth.